Napoli brushed aside Parma 2-0 at the Stadio San Paolo on Thursday night in Serie A.
A strike from Duvan Zapata and a spot kick from Dries Mertens was enough for a weakened Partenopei side to claim the three points.
Napoli will now look forward to the Supercoppa Italiana against Juventus which will be played on Monday, in Doha, Qatar.
Here are our ratings! Leave a comment if you don’t agree.
Napoli
Rafael Cabral – 6 – Spectator
The Napoli shot-stopper was not brought in to action on many occasions.
Faouzi Ghoulam – 6.5 – Adventurous
The full-back got up and down well and his forward run made the opportunity for the second goal.
Miguel Britos – 6 – Solid
Kept things simple without overdoing much, wasn’t pressured much by Parma attackers.
Henrique – 6.5 – Aerial threat
It was clear that Henrique was a threat in the air from corners but was also solid in defence.
Christian Maggio – 6.5 – Energetic
Like Ghoulam, got up and down the pitch well and provided the first goal of the game with his pass to Zupata.
Walter Gargano – 6.5 – Presence
He was his usual self, a terrier in the middle of the park.
David Lopez – 6.5 – Calm
The Spaniard was comfortable in possession, but was also effective when trying to win the ball back for his side.
Dries Mertens – 7 – Intelligent
Showed some good link-up play with his team-mates but most importantly got his first goal of the season in Serie A.
Marek Hamsik – 6 – Consistent
Showed what he is capable of at times but it was a fairly quiet performance from the captain.
Jose Callejon – 6.5 – Tricky
Difficult to stop, won the penalty which was converted by Mertens to double Napoli’s lead.
Duvan Zapata – 7.5 – Strong
Showed great strength to hold off Paletta for his goal and was a handful all game.
Substitutes
Jonathan de Guzman – 6 – Different
Offered something different in the midfield for the Partenopei and played a good game.
Gonzalo Higuain – 6 – Wasteful
Had two good opportunities to get on the scoresheet and put the game out of sight but missed both.
Jorginho – N/A
Parma
Antonio Mirante – 7 – Unlucky
Was desperately close to saving Mertens’ penalty but also kept the scoreline respectable with some key saves.
Fabiano Santacroce – 5.5 – Unfamiliar
As a natural centre back, he found it hard being deployed at full-back and was bypassed on numerous occasions by Ghoulam and Mertens.
Gabriel Paletta – 5 – Difficult
Out-muscled by Zapata for the first goal but found it difficult against the Colombian all night.
Alessandro Lucarelli – 5.5 – Experience
The defender didn’t make any obvious mistakes but it wasn’t one of his best performances.
Massimo Gobbi – 4.5 – Troubled
Gave away the penalty and found it hard to deal with the skill of Callejon.
Afriye Acquah – 5.5 – Tireless
With his team without possession for the majority of the game, the Ghanaian kept working hard and had some interesting duels with Gargano.
Daniele Galloppa – 5 – Naive
Started well, winning possession and starting play but gave away too many needless fouls.
Jose Mauri – 5 – Uninvolved
Not the game for the winger to showcase his abilities. For the majority of the game he wasn’t in it.
Raffaele Palladino – 5 – Ineffective
Never got in the game and struggled to keep hold of the ball when he received it.
Antonio Cassano – 5.5 – Neat
Tried some neat play down the wings, but was too often left on his own.
Paolo De Ceglie – 5 – Disappointing
The wing-back was not involved and was caught out of position often, replaced at half time.
Substitutes
Andrea Rispoli – 5.5 – Solid
Gave a more disciplined performance than De Ceglie who he replaced.
Francesco Lodi – 6 – Impact
Had a good impact when he came on and was closest to scoring for his side with a shot which rattled the post.
Pedro Mendes – N/A
